When I first moved into my dorm room last year I was appalled at the lack of space. I left a lot of stuff at home since my mom lives in the same city as my university, but I still felt like there was nowhere to put my stuff.

Eventually, my roommates and I got better at making our place look as de-cluttered as possible, and we finally moved into our own apartment this year. However, we’re four people in an apartment designed to comfortably fit two, so our space-saving hacks from last year are definitely transferable.

This is not a comprehensive list, and you might already be implementing some of these strategies, but these three tricks have made living in a small space more bearable.

1. Stack Your Furniture

Since the purpose of most furniture is to help you organize your stuff, this might seem counter-intuitive at first. What my roommates and I noticed last year, however, is that we had space where we didn’t need it.

For example, I had a large, empty desk that would be perfect for studying. But I prefer to study while lying down or in the common lounge, so we flipped my desk upside down and stacked it on top of my dresser. This instantly cleared up floor space and also turned into a storage unit.

Don’t be afraid to try out new furniture arrangements until you find the one that works best! When you live in a furnished dorm or apartment, you’re sometimes stuck with things you don’t need. This year, we were given a coffee table that was too low to the ground to do work on, so as you can see in the photo above, we stacked it to create an entertainment center.

2. Use a Clothing Rack

In my opinion, clothing racks are great inventions. Again, this one seems to go against your first instinct, because adding a giant metal rod to the middle of a room doesn’t scream “organized.”

But the great thing about these racks is that they slide easily into small spaces. Additionally, you hang your clothes vertically, which means you can fit more clothes onto a rack than you could into a dresser.

You can then use your dresser (or at least one drawer) for extra storage, or in my case, give your roommate some extra closet space! I got this rack at IKEA and it’s so sturdy for the price I paid.

3. Build Up with Storage Crates

My interpretation of a small space is that it’s kind of like an overpopulated city. When there’s no more room to build out, you have to build up!

One of my roommates uses the storage crates in the picture above, and they’re brilliant. It’s a cheap way to have a bookshelf-style storage unit, except this creation is deep enough to hold more than just novels.

What are your ideas?

I’ve recently found myself just throwing things under my bed when I need to not look at them for a while. This isn’t actually a viable solution to my storage problem, so what hacks do you use in small spaces? Tell me your best space-saving tips in the comments section!